Support systems such as sawhorses have long been used in the construction trade, typically providing a beam with four legs used to support construction materials for sawing. A pair of sawhorses can support a plank, for example, providing an easily made scaffold. Two sawhorses can also be used to easily form a work surface, through placement of a rigid sheet of plywood or a door on top thereof.
Typical sawhorses can be constructed in the field by attaching a cross beam between two sets of legs. However, the structural integrity of such sawhorses is directly related to the skill with which the various members are attached. Increased confidence can be obtained through use of molded plastic sawhorses, having both pre-formed plastic legs and a cross beam. Some plastic sawhorses also have pivoting legs, which advantageously permit the sawhorses to be collapsed when in storage or transit.
Even where the sawhorse has a sufficient structural integrity, the formation of a suitable working surface atop the sawhorse is often done in a makeshift manner. For example, as mentioned above, a user may simply lay a plank or a rigid sheet across a pair of sawhorses to form a working surface where a workpiece can be addressed. Although convenient, these makeshift working surfaces are generally lacking in safety and functionality. For example, where a working surface is formed by laying a rigid sheet across a pair of sawhorses, the working surface may be subject to shifting.
In addition to instability, it is generally not convenient to increase a size of the working surface. Instead, the size of the working surface is usually limited to the size of the panel laid upon the sawhorses. Increasing a size of the working surface may require a very large rigid sheet on many sawhorses, or alignment of many adjacent sheets side-by-side. However, this is either very cumbersome, in the case of handling a large sheet, or results in a non-uniform working surface, in the case of multiple adjacent sheets.
There is a continuing need for a support system such as a pre-formed plastic sawhorse with features that facilitates a more efficient connecting of multiple sawhorses to form work surfaces of different sizes and shapes. Desirably, the work surface features are easily storable together with the sawhorse when collapsed, and also permit the use of a variety of work implements.